Our Brand to Bear: The Rise of Branded Content and Native Placements

For those of us that aren’t familiar with Jun Group, please tell us a little more about your offering and audience.

Jun means “truth,” and our advertising platform gets millions of people to engage with video and branded content, across screens. We work with the biggest and best brands, publishers, and developers to create transparent, honest, opt-in ad solutions.

Branded Content and Native Advertising seems to be a hot topic amongst marketers of late. Is there a distinction between the two, and if so, how do their applications differ?

Branded Content is the “what,” and Native Advertising is the “where”. We talk about “branded content” now because advertisers have evolved beyond the banner ad and the :30 second commercial. Branded Content can be anything from a commissioned film to an Instagram post.

Native Advertising is the “where”. Native ad units take on the look and feel of their environments, instead of being interruptive or living on the periphery of a webpage. Many brands use native placements as a way to distribute branded content, as opposed to interruptive placements that make more sense for traditional advertising.

As it pertains to ad effectiveness, what are some metrics brands use to measure the efficacy of branded content and native video?

Programmatic and automation can be smart solutions for brands, especially when they’re buying standard units on a CPM. For engagement-based solutions, and especially for long-form or native placements, it’s essential to work with partners who provide transparency on placement and pricing.

What are some common misconceptions of branded content and native advertising?

One big misconception about video content is that it can just be a longer commercial. Brands want to generate content, not just advertising, and not every brand is ready to embrace the paradigm change. True branded content does not look or feel like an advertisement and often has to be produced differently.

The term “native” gets thrown around liberally. True native advertising integrates into the editorial look and feel of the publication where it’s running; moving a display ad into a feed without making the content relevant does not translate into a great advertising experience.

Lastly, what do you see as the future for branded content and native advertising at scale?

The future of branded content is integrating it seamlessly into mobile apps. Mobile dominates time spent on the Internet, and 80 percent% of time spent on mobile happens in-apps. Most brands have focused on native partnerships with editorial publishers, and the next step to achieving scale is finding ways to integrate those experiences into the broader app universe.

Jun means truth. Our advertising platform is the honest, efficient way to get millions of people to engage with video and branded content across devices. The world’s best-known brands choose Jun Group because everything we do is brand-safe, visible, and transparent.

Jun Group is based in New York with offices in Chicago, Detroit, Seattle, and Los Angeles. Please visit http://www.jungroup.com or follow @jungroup on Twitter for more information.

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